Reconciliation is characterized as settling a conflict and coexisting in harmony. To reconcile, forgiveness is necessary. For forgiveness to take place, there must be acknowledgement and full acceptance of wrongdoing.
In school, we learn that an apology is only truly impactful if we don’t repeat our actions. We learn that change needs to occur in order for our regrets to be legitimate.
However, schools are not currently leading by example. This year, Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB) changed its protocols on flag displays in schools, leading to the ban of certain flags.
This includes the epochal Every Child Matters flag.
After numerous families spoke out, Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra directed the school board to revise its flag policy, allowing the survivors' flag to be raised on Sept. 30, Truth and Reconciliation Day.
After families expressed concern, the school board did not take the correct step until mandated to by Calandra.
It seems paradoxical. The institutions that hold the same system of belief as those that facilitated the loss of thousands of children are the ones who should be seeking to reconcile the most, and yet are doing the very least.
Least in the sense of no action, and not only that, but going backwards. If an institution refuses to acknowledge wrongdoing on its own accord, it is refusing true reconciliation.
Residential schools were established to strip Indigenous child of their tradition and ancestry, better known as assimilation. The schools funded by Canada’s Department of Indian Affairs were often presented as boarding schools to help Indigenous children integrate into colonialized society.
It is now known that it was much more horrific than that.
Humber Polytechnic’s Walk for Reconciliation was scheduled for Sept. 25. Yearly, the walk unifies Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, creating a space of community and honour. There, they acknowledge the lives lost to residential schools.
During the walk, monumental Indigenous landmarks, items and art are acknowledged in a group setting led by IGNITE. The informative walk is often led to the Humber Arboretum to appreciate the cultural significance of the location in which Humber Polytechnic is situated and the agriculture that lives on. Adoobiigok served as an Indigenous transportation and trade route for the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Wendat peoples.
However, this year’s walk was cancelled due to gloomy conditions outside. The walk was reduced to an indoor self-guided walk around campus. They handed out maps of Humber for attendees to use after the event. Many, however, were left crumpled and scattered on the floor.
Communal education is what makes the walk impactful, but instead, many people didn’t even attend the speeches or do the walk. Numerous students just scooped up a free meal at the end.
The speeches acknowledged the importance of keeping culture alive, but didn’t compare to last year's. People, unfortunately, don’t always care to do more if systems don’t set a standard.
Coexisting in harmony is what defines true reconciliation. Doing the walk as a united group is a way of holding everyone accountable while creating a sense of oneness and rapport.
Without accountability and acknowledgement, we take one step back from whole forgiveness and take a giant leap from wholehearted reconciliation.
Education systems teach us to apologize, be regretful of our actions, and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes again. However, they repeat history and contradict their own teachings.
So raise a survivor flag, walk for Truth and Reconciliation, and wear an orange shirt, in the names of those who perished to the systems that serve us but failed them.
